Why You Never Listen To Your Brother
by Mala Suerte
Summary: Oh yeah... There's a third addition to the Brother's installment now. The story of Hatori's coffee cup revealed at last, and Tohru appears at last! Dedicated to Tohrukun92126! KYO&SHIGURE brother fic.


**DISCLAIMER:** I don't own them. Enough said.

Author's Note: This is dedicated to Tohrukun92126 and all the other Tohru fans out there. Thanks to everyone who's reviewed.

Why You Never Listen To Your Brother: 

**Third Installment for the Brother Series**

Tohru had been living with the Sohmas for quite awhile now. She had witnessed Kyo's true form only a couple of months ago. Kyo was… terrifying… but Tohru would still accept him. As long as his inside was still the same, Kyo was Kyo.

She had been living with the three Sohmas long enough to notice that… well there was something going on. Whatever that was, Tohru was not completely sure. Whenever Shigure and Kyo thought they were by themselves, they still fought, but in a more playful banter sort of way. (There were still times that Shigure would say something that would warrant a hit upside the head from the redhead of course.) When Yuki was with the pair, Kyo would try his best to ignore the dog, while said dog would try to annoy the cat and the rat. (Tohru also noticed, that if she was the only one in the room with the two, their fighting was actually rather toned down.)

So then Tohru began to wonder… were Kyo and Shigure closer then they seemed? She could remember, on the day she saw Kyo's true form and returned home with the little neko in her arms, how happy the inu was; how relieved he was when he laid his eyes on the cat. And after that day, Shigure could always be seen, subtly of course, keeping his eye on Kyo, a worried look in his eyes.

…as if he expected him to suddenly disappear.

The more and more she saw of the strange behavior, the more and more Tohru became curious. And a curious Tohru Honda can be a dangerous one. Luckily, in this case, it was not so much as dangerous as it was… educational.

Gathering her courage, Tohru made her way to Kyo to ask a very important question. (She would have asked Shigure, but he always said things that confused her too much. And Yuki and Kyo often ended up hitting their older cousin…) Luck was with her, Kyo happened to be sunning on the porch, reading a manga. A glass of milk and a plate of chocolate chip cookies in hand, Tohru sat next to her friend.

"Hello Kyo-kun," started Tohru, a smile on her face. "Here, I brought you some cookies and milk! Would you like some?"

Looking over his manga, a suspicious look on his face, Kyo nodded. "Sure, I guess."

"Oh good!" Tohru laid the plate down and watched Kyo sit up, laying his manga down. When Kyo picked up a cookie, she handed him the glass, a smile on her face. As he took a large gulp of the milk, Tohru finally asked her question. "Is there something going on between you and Shigure-san?"

Milk came spewing out of Kyo's mouth. Luck was definitely on Tohru's side; she was sitting next to him, if she had been sitting in front of Kyo… Well, Tohru had heard somewhere that milk was good for your skin, so it would have been alright …right?

Recovering from all his coughing and near death experience (Kyo swore he saw his life flash before his eyes, really), Kyo looked at Tohru like she was crazy. Which, when he thought about it, made a lot of sense. Who in their right mind would willingly stay with three cursed males? And that thing about icicles; what had that been about? Or who Tohru went and made friends with?

Honestly, Kyo had no problem with Uo. For a former Yankee, she was alright. But Hanajima on the other hand…

Deep in his thoughts, Kyo almost forgot about Tohru. The poor girl panicked just a little bit. _I **broke **him!_ So it was not 'just a little bit', rather it was a lot. _Oh mom, I broke Kyo-kun! What will I do?! _

Blinking, Kyo turned back to Tohru. Seeing her panicked state, he gave himself a mental slap upside the head. Sighing, he grabbed the girl by her shoulders. "Tohru. _Tohru! _Calm down you idiot. What are you panicking about now?"

"You were-! And I was-! I'm sorry I broke you Kyo-kun!"

"…huh?" Kyo gave Tohru a blank look. Mouth starting to twitch, Kyo released the girl, turning his head to the side and covering his mouth. He was so very tempted to start laughing out right, but knew that it would only confuse Tohru. "Heh, you're crazy. You know that?"

"Eh?"

Shaking his head, a smirk on his face, Kyo took a sip of the milk. "Don't worry about it Tohru. Now, what was that question again?"

"Um… Oh! Is there something going on between you and Shigure-san? I noticed that he seems worried about you a lot, and when you two think you're alone, you act nice around each other. Why is that?" Tohru tilted her head to the side, looking curiously at Kyo.

The boy was surprised that Tohru had noticed. He thought he and Shigure were covering themselves well enough if Yuki could not notice; then again, Tohru had a kind of perceptiveness about her. Kyo wondered if he should tell his friend the truth. He decided, if anyone, Tohru deserved the truth. She helped him in his hour of need, it was the least he could do. Taking a deep breath, Kyo finally answered. "He's my brother."

"…EH?! That's wonderful!" Tohru was positively vibrating in her sitting position. Oh, how much she wished she could hug Kyo right then. To find out that Shigure was the cat-cursed's brother… It was… "That's so nice! Kyo-kun and Shigure-san being brothers is such a great thing!"

Tohru had a confused look on her face. "But… you two hardly look a like. Not like Sohma-san and Ayame-san at least. Um, maybe because of a freak accident when one of you were young? OH! I'm so sorry to hear that Kyo-kun! Did it hurt?"

"…what?" Blinking in confusion, Kyo shook his head, deciding he would rather not know where Tohru had come up with that wild idea. He rolled his eyes. "You know what? I don't wanna know."

A lost look on her face, Tohru stared at Kyo. "…eh?"

"Tohru," sighed Kyo. "Shigure and I aren't real brothers. He adopted me when I was little. Well… not a real adoption at least. He just says I am, and I say he's my big brother. Does that help?"

Squealing, Tohru clapped her hands when all she really wanted to do was hug the cat-cursed. "That's so wonderful! Shigure-san and Kyo-kun really are lucky!"

Chuckling, Kyo nodded. "I guess we are. We use to play all the time in the local park when I was little. Shigure used to read me books or make up stories for me too. He was a pretty awesome nii-san."

"Was? Eh, is he not still your brother?"

"Oh, he is," Kyo laughed, taking another bite from his cookie. As he chewed, he thought about growing up with Shigure as an older brother. Kyo remembered when Shigure used to panic about the littlest paper-cut, heck he still did. The redhead turned to Tohru.

"He's a worrywart, you see," he started, chuckling. "Wouldn't let me cross a street without a helmet, despite if I was walking or not. He'd worry about the littlest thing and brush off the big stuff."

"Ah, he must have worried about you a lot then," giggled Tohru. She smiled at the mental image of a teenage Shigure holding onto a little Kyo, refusing to let him go for fear of something happening. "Very protective of you, wasn't he?"

Kyo rolled his eyes. "He still is. But nowadays he worries about important things. However…"

"…however?" Tohru leaned forward a little bit, wondering what Kyo's mischievous smirk meant. "'However' what Kyo-kun?"

"However, I found a way when I was little to distract him."

"Eh? How did you manage that?"

Looking around, making sure Shigure or anyone else was not around, Kyo leaned forward, motioning Tohru to do the same. A playful smile was on his face, seeing as he felt like a little kid again. When the girl had done what he wanted, he gave a conspiratorial wink. "You either talk circles around him or… pull a prank."

Her eyes glowing in amusement, Tohru gave a small laugh. "A prank? Kyo-kun, how did you figure something like that out?"

Chuckling, Kyo leaned back, taking another sip of milk. "Well, it was entirely 'Gure's fault. He actually suggested it."

"Suggested it?"

"Well, he may or may of not have meant it at the time. I fell off the monkey bars and sprained my wrist at school. 'Gure was freaking out the moment he saw my wrist wrapped up. Telling that big idiot to not worry is like telling the sun not to rise in the east anymore."

"But Kyo-kun, he was only worrying about you."

"I know," stated Kyo, a smile on his face. "But Tohru, he dragged me off to see Hatori to ask for medical advice. Hatori wasn't even a doctor yet. Or in medical school. Or out of high school."

Tohru laughed. "I see where that can be a bit of a problem."

Eyes rolling again, but a smile on his face, Kyo continued. "That stupid dog. I told him not to worry, that the school nurse said I'd be alright, but nii-san…"

Both of them laughing, the two took some time to calm down. Tohru was glad she had asked Kyo; this was the most fun the two ever had by themselves. Grabbing a cookie for herself, she thought about all Kyo said. It really was cute she could not help but think. And it really was wonderful that the dog and cat-cursed could actually get along so well with one another.

"Oh," gasped Tohru, suddenly remembering something. "What sort of pranks did you play to help distract Shigure-san? Nothing too horrible, I hope."

Snickering in remembrance, Kyo shook his head at the girl. "You might think it was bad, but 'Gure suggested it himself, so I went along with it. I kept telling him to stop worrying, and he said he would when I managed to stick Hatori's coffee cup to the counter."

"Oh Kyo-kun… you didn't?"

"Heh, yeah I did. And I'll _never_ forget what happened…"

_**(Several years earlier…)**_

Little Kyo sat at the kitchen counter, feeling rather bored. He absently played with a toy car Shigure had bought him that very day. In the background, the little cat could hear the dog asking the dragon a lot of questions; mostly about how long it took for a sprained wrist to heal. Kyo glared at his bandaged wrist. If it was not for it, he would have been playing outside right now instead of sitting in Hatori's kitchen.

Growling in irritation, the little redhead stopped playing with his new toy to glare at a random coffee cup. _It isn't fair, _he thought to himself. _I want to go outside. I want to- Wait._

Kyo blinked at the coffee cup in surprise. What was it that Shigure said? He would stop worrying if he… glued… Hatori's… cup? A naughty grin came over Kyo's face. Was this what the Cheshire cat felt like before he played a prank? And would gluing the dragon's cup down really help?

The little boy appropriately named 'Little Imp' started giggling to himself in his childish glee. Hopping off the barstool, Kyo made his way to the kitchen drawers. He pushed one of the kitchen table chairs with him, so he would have something to stand on. 

Why go through all this trouble?

Well, Kyo had to be able to reach the drawers. And he had to be able to reach the drawers so he could look for the super-glue. Kyo had to be able to reach the super-glue so he could glue the cup down. And _everybody_ had super-glue in his or her junk drawer.

Giggling again, he positioned the chair and jumped onto it. Kyo started to randomly search drawers, looking for the elusive tube of super-glue. It never struck the little redhead that maybe Hatori did not have any. After all, _everyone _had super-glue, right?

Luck was on Kyo's side. He found the small tube, and held his bounty tightly. Hopping off the chair and making his way back over to the barstool, Kyo held the tube before himself and glanced at the poor, innocent coffee cup.

A doubtful look came over the child's visage. Would this really be worth it all? Well, Shigure would stop worrying, right? So Kyo figured that it was. …but Hatori would be awful mad once he realized what happened. And Kyo saw what happened to Ayame when Hatori got really mad at him; hair was just now finally beginning to grow back in the bald spot.

Kyo thought and he thought. He decided… that he was going to go through with it. Sighing, the little boy grabbed the coffee cup after unscrewing the tube of glue. He squirted the sticky substance all over the bottom, and pressed the cup firmly against the counter once satisfied. Nodding his head in satisfaction, Kyo threw all the evidence away, making sure to pile other trash on top of the glue tube, and making sure to put everything else back where it originally was.

Quite proud of himself, Kyo returned to his original seat, and played with his car again, smiling the whole time. In his head, he envisioned how happy his big brother would be when he saw what he did. Oh! Kyo could hardly wait!

Into the kitchen came Hatori and Shigure after awhile. The dragon-cursed had a blank look on his face, meaning he was quite vexed. The dog-cursed followed his cousin, puppy-eyes in full swing. Hatori grumbled something illegible to Kyo's little ears, which was probably a good thing, considering Shigure's had no problem picking up the words and he was blushing something fierce. Kyo stared at his big brother in confusion, wondering why he was all red.

"Coffee, I need coffee," Hatori muttered. The teenager grabbed the pot from the coffee machine, and brought it over to his cup. As he poured the black substance into his cup, he failed to notice the little boy who was watching him intently.

Shigure, however, did. "Kyo," he whispered to the boy. When the cat-cursed turned to him with wide smiling eyes, Shigure groaned and continued to talk in low tones. "Oh no. Please say you didn't… Did you do something I'm going to get in trouble for?"

A smile was his only answer.

Sighing when his cup was filled, Hatori returned the pot to its space and placed his hand on the coffee cup. He lifted it, only for nothing to happen. Hatori stared at the cup in confusion, and tried again to pull. Nothing.

Finally Hatori noticed the larger then life smile on Kyo's face. Turning his green eyes towards the little redhead, he arched an eyebrow in slight annoyance. "Did you do this?"

Pouting, Kyo bowed his head. "You didn't like it?"

"No, I did not," agreed Hatori.

Kyo sniffed, his eyes watering up. "I'm sorry 'Tori, I made you mad."

Sighing, Hatori patted Kyo on the head, still feeling quite upset. "You're forgiven, as soon as you tell me why you did it."

"B-because 'Gure dared me to do it," whimpered Kyo, a devilish gleam in his eyes, unnoticed by both his elders. "He said that you would like it 'Tori. B-but you didn't…"

Hatori's head swiveled over to Shigure. "SHI-GU-RE."

His eyes bugging out, Shigure whimpered at Hatori's tone. "B-but it was a joke. I didn't think he'd really do it." Slowly he backed away from the advancing dragon. "You wouldn't hurt me, would you 'Tori? I'm your friend… You're going to hurt me."

Quickly, the dog-cursed turned tail and ran out of the kitchen, screaming for help. The dragon-cursed gave chase, a frying pan in his hand as he yelled at his friend. And all the while, the little cat-cursed sat at the kitchen counter still playing with his car, a self-satisfied smirk on his little face.

_There, that should distract him_, thought Kyo. _Maybe I should do this all the time…?_

_**(Back to present…)**_

Tohru sat on the porch, her eyes wide in disbelief as she stared at the chuckling Kyo. Slowly, she blinked and shook her head in wonderment. The fact that a little Kyo had done that… And he was so devilish too!

"Kyo-kun… You… I…," started Tohru thoroughly shocked. Slowly, she started to giggle, then was laughing out right. "Oh Kyo-kun, you were such a clever little boy! Shigure-san and the others must have had their hands full with you when growing up."

"Not to brag, but… yeah," Kyo laughed in reply. "But I didn't always act like that. When I did, Shigure usually was being over-worried about something, so I just did whatever came to mind. It was mostly pranks anyways."

"Goodness, it must have been lots of fun."

"Yep."

"Depends which end of the prank you were on," stated a third voice.

It really was bad luck that Kyo just happened to be drinking the milk again when the other voice spoke up. More milk was wasted on the porch, and Tohru was infinitely glad that she was not sitting in front of the boy. She stared in horror at their uninvited guest while Kyo recovered from his second near death experience.

"Ha-Hatori," stuttered Kyo in surprise. "Um… fancy seeing you here?"

Sighing, Hatori threw his suit jacket down onto the porch, and sat next to the two teens. He absently grabbed a cookie for himself, as he silently enjoyed the horrified looks he was getting. Chewing on the pilfered cookie, the man gave Kyo a thoughtful look. "To distract Shigure, huh? I always did wonder why I and Ayame were suddenly the lucky recipients of some of your most creative pranks."

Kyo laughed nervously. "Well, you know how annoying he was when he was worried about me."

Hatori snorted. "He was at that, but it only showed how much he cared about you."

"I know," Kyo smiled gently. "I just didn't want him having a heart-attack before he turned twenty."

Chuckling, the man stole his cousin's glass of milk for a sip. He sighed in satisfaction at the cool drink, and handed it back to Kyo, nodding in thanks; the redhead simply arched an eyebrow in reply. "I was thirsty," Hatori stated. "And good chocolate chip cookies deserve milk."

"Uh huh," nodded Kyo. The younger Sohma snickered to himself.

When it seemed that Hatori would not harm Kyo, Tohru took a deep breath. She had been holding her breath without realizing it, so worried she was about whether or not Kyo would live to see his next birthday. Giggling at the two Sohmas' antics, the lone girl leaned forward towards Hatori suddenly. "Eh, Hatori-san, why are you here? Not that we aren't happy to see you of course," panicked the girl a bit. Once she calmed down, Tohru continued. "But if you don't mind me asking, why are you here?"

Hatori smirked. "An idiot that we all know called me up a while ago, saying something about a certain someone having a horrible cough earlier. He wanted me to come and check-up on this person, make sure it was not a bad cold, you see. If that cough was anything like what I witnessed not to long ago, I think we have nothing to worry about."

Blushing, Kyo shook his head in disbelief. "Nii-san heard me coughing from all the way in the office? And he called you up? That idiot."

"Shigure was simply worried about his brother, that is all," smiled Hatori. "The fact he's thrown everything out of proportions again should not be all that surprising."

Tohru laughed. "Goodness, Shigure-san really is a worrywart, like Kyo-kun said."

"He was merely worrying about his Baby Cat, as usual."

"'Baby Cat'?"

"'Tori," hissed Kyo, frowning. "Why'd you have to go and say that for?"

Hatori chuckled. "It's one of the nicknames that Shigure gave Kyo, Honda-san. The other one I believe is… 'Little Imp', is it not?"

Groaning, Kyo covered his eyes as Tohru squealed at the cute-ness of it all. Kyo glared at his cousin through his fingers, hating the smirk over the other's face. "This was to get back at me for the prank, wasn't it?"

"Perhaps," agreed Hatori.

Tohru chuckled.

"Well," Kyo sighed, a smirk coming over his face again. "Good thing you don't know about the other pranks."

"…what else have you done for Shigure's sake?"

"Mhmm, quite a few."

"Tell me."

"How about not."

"How about the next time your life is in danger…"

"…ok, I'll tell you one. The hair dye incident? That was me."

"…but all three of us got that one."

"Shigure ticked me off, Ayame was being annoying, and you were a complete bonus."

"…I see."

"Eh? Hair dye?" Tohru blinked at the two in confusion. "Um, do I want to know?"

"Probably not," laughed Kyo, enjoying the sour look on Hatori's face far too much.

"Ah. …that's what I thought."

After calming himself down, Hatori gave Kyo a pointed stare. "If Shigure is panicking now, don't you think perhaps you should find a way to distract him now?"

Kyo blinked. "Hmm, I guess you're right." Picking up the last cookie from the plate, the three had been munching on the cookies the whole time, Kyo stood up. He gave a little wave to the two still sitting. "Wish me luck. And be ready for a whiney Shigure."

"Eh? Kyo-kun what are you going to do?" Tohru was confused. A cookie? How would that help?

"Now Kyo," smirked Hatori, pulling out his cigarettes and lighter. He lit up a cigarette and sighed at the nicotine in his system. "Waving a cookie around like a child? How juvenile."

Laughing, Kyo made his way into the house, yelling over his shoulder as he went. "Maybe… but it sure as hell always works!"

Still smirking, the dragon-cursed turned to poor confused Tohru. "In other words, you might want to make some more cookies. Kyo's probably going to enjoy this…"

Blinking, Tohru paused as she finally figured out what was going to happen. Laughing, she covered her mouth and looked at Hatori, her eyes twinkling in mirth. "Poor Shigure-san; even his own little brother won't share with him."

"Yes, but at least he won't be worrying anymore. But still, Kyo should have never listened to his brother."

**The End.**

Er, I'm done. This didn't quite turn out how I planned it. …then again, I didn't really plan any of it. I just… wrote. Yeah. Okay people, you know the drill: Review. Flames acceptable.


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